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9 Top Kitchen Tools You NEED & 9 You Can Live Without

When you’re first starting your healthy cooking journey (read about my journey here) it’s hard to choose where to spend your money. What equipment you need in your kitchen may vary a lot on what someone else needs in theirs. And truthfully, some kitchen gadgets are just pain ridiculous.

It goes without saying that in your kitchen you need things like knives, cutting boards, spatulas, pots etc. I could give you a list containing the basic items but it would be a pretty long list. You don’t need everything to be fancy – just practical. Instead of focusing on the basics I wanted to give you a list that you may not think of.

Below Are 9 Kitchen Tools You’ll Wish You Had In Your Kitchen

Handheld Lemon Squeezer

I love this thing. Literally. It was something I never thought I’d use and I do. All the time.

It makes juicing lemons (or limes or oranges etc) super fast and simple. I like to keep freshly squeezed lemon juice in the fridge at all times (to use in recipes like my Tangy Lemon Noodle Bowl), but squeezing nine lemons by hand sucks. This is why this apparatus rocks. Check it out here.

A Really Powerful Blender

Yes you can get away with a magic bullet for a little while. But eventually your bullet just won’t hold up. A good blender will make it so you don’t need to chop things before they go in. It will make shakes and smoothies beyond smooth. It also helps when making healthy desserts (like these Raw Salted Chocolate Brownies  or these no bake fruit and nut bars!). And most importantly, it will make homemade ice cream.

Personally, I invested in a Vitamix. It took me three years of listing pros and cons but I wouldn’t hesitate in a heartbeat to do it again. It is easily the most used piece in my kitchen.. every single day. And it comes with a seven year warranty! Check it out here.

The picture below shows you how much I ADORE this blender haha!

The Smart Stick

This is one of those things that just comes in handy. It is useful as an immersion blender for soups but also as a mini food processor for small stuff (like the icing on this Healthy Chocolate Cupcake). I actually don’t have a food processor (gasp! I know) but between my vitamix and this smart stick I make do. Check it out here.

Rolling Garlic Mincer

This is the best fifteen bucks you can spend! It’s simple but effective. I suck at mincing garlic which means everyone ends up chewing raw garlic (most people don’t like this) so this little mincer solves that problem. And since almost everything I eat contains garlic (like this Chicken & Veggie Casserole) this baby is used a lot. Check it out here.

Mini Mesh Strainers

You always need one when you don’t have one. These strainers are perfect for straining pulp, almond milk and infused kombucha. I always find a use for them! Check them out here.

Silicone Baking Sheet

Cookies have never been easier. I love this sheet because it rolls up so storage is easy and the cookies when baked, slide right off. Check it out here.

Avocado Pitter, Peeler & Slicer

I’ll be honest, not everyone needs this. However, every year when avocados are cheap I pit and peel about forty five avocados and freeze them for future green smoothies (like this Tangy & Tropical Green Smoothie). This gadget makes that process a lot easier and a lot less time consuming. Check it out here.

Bowls With Pour Spouts

I get so angry when I have a mixing bowl full of liquid or batter (like in these Cheesecake Mini Bites!) and I go to pour it into something else and it dump everywhere down the side of the bowl. Thus wasting precious liquid. Invest in bowls that are easy to pour from. Save yourself the anger. Check them out here.

Garlic Peeler

Garlic. Again. I know. But I use so much! Peeling garlic ends up being difficult for me. Which then takes forever to do and my fingers smell like garlic. Having a garlic peeler makes attempting recipes simple (especially if you’re a curry fiend like me!). Enough said. Check it out here.

So there we are, my absolute favorite kitchen go-to’s! I have each and every one of them in my kitchen and truly love them. But like I said before, there’s a lot of gadgets out there and some of them are completely unnecessary.

Below Are 9 Kitchen Tools You Can Easily Live Without

Handheld Egg Cracker

Cracking eggs has been happening for a long time now and most of us have managed without a designated egg cracker. Safe yourself the space and use a fork. If you need to separate the egg from the yolk- practice! Just drip back and forth between the shells. You can do it, I promise.

Handheld Banana Slicer

This one blows my mind a bit truthfully. Instead of wasting five bucks on this “tool” just use a knife you already own. It doesn’t even have to be a fancy knife, bananas are soft.

Pickle Picker

This one always makes me laugh. in some way i guess I can see why you’d go for this. After all, it’s only five bucks. However, I wouldn’t (well can’t) deem it a necessity by any standards. Just use a fork folks.

The Pomagranate Tool

Confession: I actually hated de-seeding pomagranates Honestly they’re hard as hell, it gets everywhere and stains my hands. I may have though about buying this until i came across this video which solved all life problems. This is currently my go-to method and it works well! Twenty five bucks saved!

Egg Slicer

Personally, I don’t think that an egg slicer is necessary. Again, just use a regular old knife! I suppose if you need your eggs completely perfect very often it might be worth it but unless you’re running a fancy restaurant the majority of us can skip this gadget.

Apple Cutter & Corer

I can actually see why some people may like this. However, if you’re trying to keep junk out of your kitchen or at least just trying to make the best use of the space you have, it’s not a needed piece of equipment. Like everything else, just use a knife and find a technique that works for you.

Corn Kernel Stripper

This gadget actually confuses me. Either eat the corn on the cob or purchase corn already off the cob (canned or frozen). This “tool” seems a bit unnecessary for any and all kitchens.

Microwave Popcorn Popper

I love popcorn, like LOVE IT. And while I can see some people love this gadget (or actual popcorn machines) it’s not exactly crucial to have in your kitchen. if you’re looking to get away from bagged popcorn (which you should!) you can easily make popcorn on the stove and save yourself the space from this “tool”.

Hands Free Pot Stirrer

This piece of equipment is rather expensive so save yourself the money and buy food with it! While it might be tempting to pick up pot stirrer (save yourself all that hassle of stirring soup 😛 ) it’s a completely unnecessary tool for your kitchen.

And there we are! The necessities and the indulgences of kitchen tools! Whether you’re trying to save space or simply don’t want to waste your money this list can help set up and stock your kitchen! Only opt for the kitchen tools you truly need and do away with the rest.

Don’t Forget To Pin These Nine Kitchen Tools You NEED In Your Kitchen!